Ixalan Prerelease!

Dowsing Dagger (promo)
Verdant Sun's Avatar
Sunbird's Invocation
Bloodcrazed Paladin
Axis of Mortality
Dreamcaller Siren
Growing Rites of Itlimoc

We both had fantastic starting hands and so opted to keep. Our planned opener was to some thing for the first three turns, then drop Jade Guardian and he buffs it with One with the Wind. We had a 5/5 hexproof flier on turn 4 and it was fantastic. We had the game in our hands from then on. Kitesail freebooter came down for them and stole my Sunbird's Invocation but we didn't really need it, it seemed. Then we hit trouble. I was dropping other threats but the control player kept removing them, while each player dropped 2-3 drops, clogging the board, and my partner was stuck on 3 lands with a hand full of 4-5 drop fliers. We were good to race, clocking them down to 15 pretty quickly but they began to catch up. Considering my friend still had zero plays and I was getting empty handed, we began to argue over our next move. I posited that we stop racing since a solitary 5/5 can't race a board full of creatures for very long, but my friend said we should keep racing, despite there being 5-6 creatures on their board, plus cards in hand. I did something here I'm not particularly proud of---I got REAL salty. Now my friend and I have known each other for...26-odd years now so he can take what I dish out (even though I was definitely an ass about it) but I think I kind of put off the opponents too with the way I argued. I essentially had called the game lost a little before it was (even though we figured after the game there really was nothing we could do). I was so upset I just wanted to give up right there and literally almost got up and walked away, essentially letting my friend make all the calls for us. My friend eventually drew his lands but it was far too late and we were overrun. Once the game was over and all 4 of us talked a little, I apologized to them for how I acted. We all knew the loss was mostly due to variance but at the time I was so pissed off about my friend's aggressive idea to constantly attack even though we were way behind and couldn't race I just couldn't let it go.
Record: 0-1

This game went a lot more smoothly. We both managed to get stuff on the board this time, smashed in for a bunch and were decently ahead. Or I should say my friend smashed in for a bunch, everything I played just got removed again. At least our decks were doing what they were supposed to do. Then our opponents started fighting back, enchanting their own Hexproof merfolk and smashing us. We were far enough ahead that we needed one more attack to seal the deal as they were only at something like 2 life, but if we couldn't they would win on the next turn thanks to their own evasion. I drew Repeating Barrage and hit them in the face for 3 and we won. Only once we did that did we realize how close were to losing. One opponent who we had figured was only on RW dinosaurs showed us his hand---it was full of big green dinosaurs as well, and he never drew a Forest all game. On top of that he showed us he was one mana off of Settle the Wreckage! If I hadn't drawn the burn spell to end the game, we would have had our boards exiled and lost on the next turn!!
Record: 1-1

Went up against a couple we played against during the Amonkhet Prerelease. That was the girl's first prerelease and this one happened to be her second one. Her boyfriend definitely helped her own the first time but she sorta knew what was going on. This time though, the guy basically just played two decks and she more or less did nothing. It was a bit of an oddity but hey, I guess whatever floats their boat. We're all dropping creatures left and right, then the girl plays a Growing Rites, and then a Waker of the Wilds. That was terrifying. Essentially with a board full of creatures she was all set up to start making 10/10 creature-lands as soon as they felt like it. Luckily they stalled out before really starting to do it and I was able to remove it. Definitely some suboptimal play from this duo but considerin gthe guy was basically playing two decks I suppose that can't really be helped. We all misplayed as well at one point---the dude had slammed a Tocatli Honour Guard which I only removed with Repeating Barrage AFTER dropping Raging Swordtooth to attempt activate both of our Aegisaurs and making a 3/3 thanks to my Hatchling. We had just calculated which 2/1s of their got killed and which creatures got +1/+1 counters when I realized the 1 damage to all creatures should never have gone off! Since we had long since moved past that turn we agreed to retroactively sequence it properly but I'm not sure he had any obligation to do so---probably should have cost us that game. In the end we had to go for the alpha as time was called and they were threatening the win. We had the same number of attackers and blockers, and I had Repeating Barrage that I kept rebuying---we had just enough mana (and one creature with trample) that we were able to burn them for 4 with Unfriendly Fire and the end of their turn, buy back Barrage. On our turn we burned them again for 6 by playing Barrage/buying it back and burning again then swung for exact lethal.
Record: 2-1

Treasure Map
Tishana, Voice of Thunder
Arguel's Blood Fast

Daring Saboteur (promo)
Ruin Raider
Ashes of the Abhorrent
Growing Rites of Itlimoc
Repeating Barrage
Sanguine Sacrament
Spell Swindle

Mirror match! Game 1We both dropped some early aggressive creatures but I also drew removal and got my creatures to stick. Daring Saboteur helped me draw into consistent gas and unblockable River Sneak and Storm Sculptor closed out the game equipped with a handy Pirate's Cutlass. Game 2 was a slower start but I managed to get the pirate synergy going with Lightning-Rig Crew and dropping tons of pirates, then eventually finished him off tapping his board down with Tempest Caller. The games were both decently close with us both sort of swinging past each other (he also had pirates and a cutlass but then couldn't get past my blocker) but ultimately I think I drew a little bit better.
Record 1-0

Ended up having to play against my friend in Round 2. Somehow this always happens and while it sucks for one of us to have to lose out by beating the other, it's fun to play against each other. We had played two practice games during deckbuilding so we each knew what the other was on. I knew I was going to be in trouble once he got to 6 mana since he had opened up a Carnage Tyrant and to 6/6 Tramplers that my measly Pirates would not be able to stop. He won our first practice game and I won the second so it could really have gone either way. Game 1 I got Lightning Rig out early, removed his 3/3 Raptors before they could become 5/3 and chipped in for bits of damage at a time. Then he got to 6 mana and started dropping 6/6 tramplers. I was able to tempo him out by bouncing his 6 mana plays and eventually eat enough damage (thanks to a high life total) once I ran out of spells that I barely squeaked out the win.Game 2 he sided in a couple of 2/2 lifelinkers to prevent me chipping him down too easily, but he never hit his big dinosaurs and I just ran him over with unblockable damage.
Record 2-0

There were 3 of us at 2-0 waiting to see who was going to get paired down and we all wanted to split, which meant the guy who got paired down's split would we worth fewer packs. I got to go up against another 2-0 so we agreed to split 6 packs each and play for the win. The Grixis Pirates deck proved pretty popular apparently! This time was particularly hilarious because not only did this guy have a Cutlass as well, he also had his own Daring Saboteur! We spent Game 1 being aggressive, me swinging in with my 4/3 for 2 mana and chipping in for damage, but eventually he drew a bunch of removal and my board was low. Then I drew March of the Drowned (which is a CRAZY strong card) and got everything back, and eventually swung in for unblockable lethal. Game 2 I never managed to draw my red mana and his removal was just a little bit too much for me. He then played his OWN 4/3 for 2, and Deathless Ancient against that and a board full of little pirates is just too much. At this point it was getting late and though we wanted to play a third game to see whose deck was truly better, the owners wanted to close so we were happy to call it a draw.
Final Record: 2-0-1

Dire Fleet Ravager
Search for Azcanta
Rampaging Ferocidon
Waker of the Wilds
Dragonskull Summit
Goring Ceratops

3 mythics in 21 total packs (plus 2 promos) is still pretty well above average as per usual for me for some reason, especially since apparently the flip cards take up a mythic slot, so that's kind cool. Also weird that between both me and my friend we didn't open a single Opt.